Brothers by the Blade
by Shadow B. Panther
Summary: When Cloud left for SOLDIER, what if he was able to make it with the help of his friend Zack, a SOLDIER 1st Class? And what would have happened if both Cloud and Zack made it to Midgar after the Nibelheim incident and began to help AVALANCHE?
1. The Goal and Meeting

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII, not me.

Well like my last story, this is rated T to be on the safe side.

**Description: **When Cloud left for SOLDIER, what if he was able to make it with the help of his friend Zack, a SOLDIER 1st class? And what would have happened if both Cloud and Zack made it to Midgar after the Nibelheim incident and began to help AVALANCHE?

**A/N: **Well this is my second story and first try at FF7. This is one of my all time favorites, despite the fact that the storyline confused me first time I played. I brought the movie the day it was released in the U.S. and I enjoyed it, but because of that I plan on mixing several elements from the movie with the game (weapons, clothes, etc.). I may take some time to look up events in-order for the story to progress properly since it will follow the FF7 story with some changes.

I heard that prior to the experiment Cloud was unable to join SOLDIER because of his insecurity caused by the everyone of his village (with exception of Tifa and his mother), and that made him unable to gain the mental strength SOLDIER members needed. Also he wanted to join to so he could be strong enough to gain Tifa's attention and the town's respect. I plan to make several alteration here. Also some of these alterations may make the Cloud (and maybe others) seem a little ooc. By the way, I like the original couples of Cloud/Tifa and Zack/Aerith, so that will be in this story.

Well lets begin.

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

**Brothers by the Blade**

**1. The Goal and The Meeting**

It had been about a month now, a month since fourteen year-old Cloud Strife left his home village of Nibelheim to travel to Midgar. In Midgar he was planning to go to the Shin-Ra Company and join their private elite military known as SOLDIER. He had heard of them several months after the accident.

Cloud had feelings for a girl named Tifa Lockhert and when he was nine he followed her while she traveled in the nearby mountains, her friends had left her alone and he was worried about her safety. The rope bridge she was on shook and he tried to save her before she fell, but it ended in them both falling. That incidentally lead to more pain for him despite only suffering a scraped knee. Tifa was put in a coma for the next week and the others of his village blamed him for the accident, which he also blamed on himself. This led to him into state of depression and frustration, as well as fighting with others while distancing himself from Tifa.

Then he heard about the Shin-Ra's legendary SOLDIER named Sephiroth and his great strength. Cloud soon made plans to go to Midgar and join SOLDIER, but first he decided to tell Tifa about the plan to several months before he left and made a promise to her. He had also told his mother and she agreed that he should follow his dreams, but asked him to visit her some time. He had been saving money for the trip by doing chores and other jobs around town ever since he decide to travel to Midgar. He was determined to achieve his goal and gain the respect he was never allowed to have. He left then left at the beginning of spring and that brings everything back to his current location.

At the moment Cloud was standing outside the Shin-Ra Company building and preparing to enter when a hand stopped the spiky-haired blond. Surprised, Cloud turned around quickly and was greeted with the sight of a man with black haired as spiky as his own. The man appeared to be about seventeen and was wearing a dark purple uniform that he had heard higher ranked members of SOLDIER wear and strapped on his back was the biggest sword that Cloud had ever seen. The young blond wasn't sure what to say as he looked at the stranger, who was apparently with SOLDIER.

The man looked at the younger teen as if examining him for a few seconds and grinned while closing his eyes, "Well what do we have here? A young man standing outside of Shin-Ra main building, in apparently good physical shape and health, and looks like he has seen a few fights. I'm guessing that you are here to join SOLDIER since the only other organization (the Turks) is much harder to join for almost everyone." He then paused for a moment as if remembering something while taking Cloud's hand and shaking it "Oh where are my manners, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Zack, SOLDIER First Class at your service, and what is your name young man?"

Cloud blinked for a few seconds, a little shocked. He had heard about the three ranks in SOLDIER, the lowest being Third Class and First Class was the highest with Sephiroth ranking as the highest of the First Class. He was beyond shocked that someone with such a high rank and skill was talking to him. Zack then waved his hand in-front of Cloud's face and snaps him out of his daze.

Cloud then looks toward Zack and composes his thoughts, "Umm...yeah I'm Cloud Strife and yes I'm her to join SOLDIER, it's my dream to become strong like Sephiroth."

Zack just let out a small chuckle as he messed up Cloud's hair when they stopped shaking hands, "Well that's a nice dream, but there are many guys that come here with that same dream and sadly don't make it. I personally wanted to travel the world, get stronger, and make good money, which are all things I get from being in SOLDIER." He paused to a moment again and rubbed his chin, "Though I will admit that I'm not just about myself, I been known to very loyal to my friends and protect those that can't protect themselves. What about you? There have to be more reason for you to want to join than to be like Sephiroth, so what is it?"

Cloud was hesitant about talking to the slightly older man, but sighed and sat down as he began, "To tell you the truth, you're the first person to ask and you're right about me having another reason to do this. Back in my hometown I'm not really that well liked. All the adults, except my mother, treat me like dirt with all their belittling insults. The others that are my age either insult me or try to bully me. Then the girl I have feelings for barely knows I'm alive and I agree with her father that it was my fault she nearly died." Cloud would have been close to tears if he didn't accept all the things he was saying already. "I could have kept her from getting hurt, but I was not strong enough. If I can join SOLDIER I will not only become strong enough to protect her, but I will finally get her to see that I really care about her and gain the respect of my town." He let out all the things that held in towards this man that he hasn't even known for an hour.

Zack sighed as he looked down at the obviously disturbed young man. He knew that without help the kid would not be able to even pass the test, let alone be a proper member of SOLDIER. Call him softhearted, but Zack felt the need to help Cloud. His dream may have seemed a little selfish to some, but they are suppose to be and Cloud deserved it from what Zack heard._ I do believe that respect and love are always worth the effort._

"Well kid, I'll be honest with you. I can tell just from hearing you talk that you would not pass the test to get into SOLDIER. Thanks to your home you have next to no self-confidence and you're a bit weak willed. The best you could probably do now is joining the basic Shin-Ra military force." Zack watched the young blond become more upset and continued, "But then again, with the right help and training I'm sure that you can fix that."

Cloud's face brightened up a little when he heard that last part, "Do you mean it? There's a chance that I can still join?"

Zack nodded his head, "I make you an offer right now. You move in with me into my apartment and join the Shin-Ra military force, then I'll have you stationed under my command and personally train you. In a year you should be able to at least become a Third Class and maybe as strong as a First Class if we keep working after that, what do you say?"

Cloud was very happy when he heard that offer and he nodded in agreement, in truth he was wondering where he was going to stay since he had just arrived in the massive city earlier that day. He thought waiting a year or so would be worth it if could still attain his goal instead of abandoning it. Zack and Cloud shook hands once again to signal their deal and walked inside the building to get the younger man a job.

-----------------------------

About a week later Cloud and Zack are sitting across from each other at the kitchen table of their apartment. It was easier than expected to get Cloud a job. Zack had realized that it was because Cloud more than met the requirements for military personnel. Zack also realized that his will and self-esteem were Cloud's biggest problems, while his physique was just right for a beginning soldier. Cloud had obvious work hard to get himself in the right condition for SOLDIER and the older teen guessed it would not take long after Cloud becomes a SOLDIER before he can match his own physical ability (speed, strength, etc.), but skill would take a lot of work.

Right now they were preparing to deal with the young blond's problem and build-up his mental fortitude. With that thought in mind, Zack began, "You know what we are about to do and I know you prepared yourself for the painful memories Cloud, so lets begin. You said that you were basically treated badly in your hometown by all the adults and children except for that girl you like and your mother, do you have any idea why?"

Cloud sight shifted as he recalled the old memories, "I know a little thanks to my mother. Apparently my father wasn't very well liked by the everyone and died when he went near the Shin-Ra mako generator several months before I was born, too many strong monsters for him to fight alone." Cloud thought about all the things that his mother told him about his father. "The fact that the mako generator was going to bring more wealth to Nibelheim and he was against it made the people dislike him further. My mother was included in their hate to a degree because she loved him, but more felt pity for her than hate. Since I was his son, I receive their full malice and receive the blame for any problems that happened when I was near."

Zack nodded and resisted the urge to yell, but still spoke with some anger in hid voice, "Well I personally think that's completely unfair! We have as much right to choose our parents as we have to be born! How can they blame you for someone's actions when you weren't even born?!"

Cloud lowered his gaze as he spoke again, "Well I got use to that. I figured when I prove to them that he and I are different, that I'm not the same kid that they knew, that I am better better than they thought that I would ever be, then they will know that they were wrong about me. After that I will prove that I am strong enough to be with Tifa and protect her." He started speaking low and almost shy, but with each word was gaining more confidence as he spoke.

Zack smiled a little. _ It seemed that his confidence was present, but hiding behind the self-doubt that the others of his village instilled on him in his childhood. Apparently he was just unable to express what he felt to other since they would just blame and insult him. Now that he could voice his inner thoughts instead of burying them under more self-doubt. This may take less time than I originally thought. Next to get to the bottom of that accident with this Tifa girl that he talked about._

The black haired man looked at the blond as he spoke, "Well I can see that we are on the right track and you are getting a little more confident in yourself, but on to you other problem. You mentioned an accident with Tifa, you mind telling me about that?"

Cloud's eyes widened for a moment as he remembered his painful memory, but he composed himself since he had expected that. He explained everything that happened, from the plan of the eight year-old Tifa that he overheard to his treatment and fights as a result of his anger with himself afterwards.

Now Zack is usually a laid back person that takes a lot to get angered, but he was having a hard time restraining himself. Here his new friend tells him that he was just a kid that he was blamed and further alienated for something that wasn't his fault. After a full night of talking Zack was making progress, he was able to get Cloud to stop blaming himself and get him to see that what happened wasn't his fault. Zack was even able get him to see that he was trying to help, but it just didn't workout right and that it would have happened whether he was there or not. He convinced Cloud that he should have been glad he was there to make sure nothing else happened to the hurt girl in the monster infested area.

Over the next several weeks Zack began training Cloud physically and mentally. Cloud said that he wanted to be able to wield Zack's huge sword and learn his style, so Zack started by giving him heavy wrist-weights to prepare him for the weight of the massive blade. One problem was lifting and swing the heavy buster sword, another was being able to use it properly as if it was a normal sword. He would have Cloud train with a basic sword and the weights while he practiced. Zack would compliment and talk to Cloud as often as possible to improve the blond's confidence. Zack soon realized that despite the training, Cloud was naturally a quiet person that was a bit shy around strangers outside of battle.

About ten months since the two spiky haired young men have become best friends, Cloud because he never really had any friends and Zack had either lost all his old friends or was too different from the other Shin-Ra employees to become friends with them. Cloud was also catching up with Zack so well in body structure without going the the SOLDIER process that he felt that the two would make a great team in the future. After becoming a SOLDIER Cloud's already impressive strength and speed would increase dramatically and rival his own eventually.

It was also discovered that even though Cloud was a getting good with one sword, he also excelled with two swords. With that thought Zack decided Cloud needed a gift. Zack had a custom buster sword made that was similar to his with subtle differences. The sword was similar to his in length and width, but the differences was that it was doubled edged and pointed at the center instead of the back (styled to be like a broad sword the size of the buster sword). Through a special mechanism the blade would split in half down the center and the handles would shift to the center of the base of each blade. Well Zack's surprise was gratefully accepted by Cloud, who didn't have a sword and would either train with a wooden sword or Zack's.

Another two months passed Zack did as promised, he let Cloud go through the process to see if he could be a join SOLDIER. Cloud was still wearing his Shin-Ra MP uniform with his swords strapped on his back in a crossing manner as he walked in to the section he was told to go. Thanks to Zack's help and Cloud's new history within Shin-Ra's military, he was able to not only pass the process to become a SOLDIER, but also jump straight to SOLDIER Second Class several days after the process was finished. Zack was impressed, though he had trained himself, he became a Third Class when he was twelve, a Second Class at fifteen like Cloud, and it only took him a year to become a First Class after that. If Cloud worked hard he could become a First Class just as fast.

Zack was thinking to himself while Cloud was getting fitted for his dark red SOLDIER Second Class uniform. _Well kid you became a SOLDIER just like you wanted and now you'll only get stronger. I think I'll see if I can get the higher-ups make you my partner, you and I would make a great team with our style and skill. I have a feeling that there will be few that can match us if we stick together my friend. Oh well I wonder how many will think the two spiky-haired buster sword wielding SOLDIER are brothers. _Zack let out a small laugh as that last thought passed through his mind, after all there were a lot of similarities that the two shared.

That's it for this chapter, hoped you liked it.

**A/N:** Well as I said this is my first FF7 or first FF story. Anyway before anyone says Cloud was really ooc, from what I remember and looked up Cloud was really different from how he was in the game/movie and how he was prior to the the game events. His treatment in Nibelheim was one of the main reasons for him failing to become a SOLDIER. It also said that protecting Tifa and gaining her attention was his reasons for wanting to join, I just assumed that him wanting to show the village his success was an after thought to him.

It was was said that Zack and Cloud were best friends. I figured that having Zack train him would be a decent replacement to the game's explanation and it said in the game he was physically like a soldier, but unable mentally. This will explain why Cloud and Zack have the same fighting style.

As for the thing about the village treating him, he was treated pretty badly when he was a kid and even worse after Tifa's accident, since I doubt a kid could cause so many to dislike him that much I decided to say that it was because of his father (who I wasn't mentioned in any of the games or movie I think). As for him becoming mentally stronger fast, well I just went into detail on his first steps and said that Zack helped him for weeks after that. As for the sword, in FF7:AC we saw that Cloud was good with using his First Tsurugi in full form and two of the blades at once. I really liked that sword so it will be seen later.

The next chapter will cover the return to Nibelheim.


	2. Beginning of Trouble

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII, not me.

**A/N: **Well here's the second chapter, like I said this chapter will cover Nibelheim. Those that remember the original story knows that there was the version where Cloud returned as a SOLDIER and was a surprise to everyone, but they didn't act like they did when he was a kid, took the picture with Tifa and Sephiroth, was with Sephiroth until he went crazy, and went to fight him. The true version was that no one knew he was there other than his mother, was guarding the outside of everything while Zack was with Sephiroth, the things in the reactor went slightly different.

Now on with the story

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

**Brothers by the Blade**

**2. Return Home and Trouble Begins**

It had been another year now and things were going nicely for the two spiky haired teens. Cloud was now sixteen, his skills were steadily improving, and he was gaining a name for himself among the Shin-Ra military. Zack was the same as ever, nineteenth birthday was only a couple months prior, and was always finding a new way to improve his skills.

The two were soon getting noticed by their superiors and said to probably be the only two that could be a match for Sephiroth, though it was also said that they would most likely lose if either faced him alone. It was said that they were good when fighting alone, but unbelievable when they were fighting together since they always trained and work together. It is for that reason, as well as their hair styles that the two were thought to be brothers. It was a little funny to see the two young men with the same hair and cloth style, but of different colors. The odd thing was that Cloud would wear a high collared black coat to cover his lower face and sometimes a red bandanna to cover his hair for any mission requiring him to work with strangers because of his shy nature.

Their personal lives seemed to be doing well also. They still shared the same apartment, but they were now receiving and sending letters with those close to them. Cloud sent letters to his mother to inform her regularly after he joined SOLDIER and told her the reason for not writing before was because of his training. After he a few letters he began to ask her a little about Tifa and his mother soon started to let her see some of the letters (the recent ones about his and Zack's lives in SOLDIER, not the ones explaining the first year). A couple of weeks after that he began to write a letter to both his mother and Tifa, but sent them both to his house since he thought her father would probably destroy the letters before Tifa could read them.

Zack began to follow Cloud example by writing to his parents again. His parents had not heard from him since he was fifteen and he felt that it was time to get back in-touch with them. Not long after Cloud joined SOLDIER, Zack had found a nice girl named Aerith that lived in Lower Midgar and was currently dating her. It seemed that he was as head-over-heels for her as Cloud was for Tifa, but their way of meeting each other was unique. Unfortunately Zach did not have a chance to introduce her to Cloud yet, but he had told her about him.

At the moment the two were in a practice field at the SOLDIER training facility testing out Cloud's newest swords. It took a lot of work, but Cloud convinced Zack to let him upgrade his swords and his new swords were unique. Zack just had his buster sword have a few changes done to it. He had it reformed with a stronger lighter metal, sharpened to perfection, and coated in an anti-rust solution.(I hear it had sentimental value and as it was the main weapon of the original, I couldn't get rid of it)

Cloud had increased the number of swords that he carried by using a sword called the First Tsurugi. In the final form it looked like Zack's buster sword and was the same size, but it was composed of six individual swords. The primary sword could split open and serves as the base sword for the final form. The second sword was a hollow sword with the hilt built in the back of the blade and would lock into the front of the blade. The next two swords were identical serrated swords that locked onto the back of the base sword on both sides to finish the final form's buster sword appearance. His last two swords were switch blades that were much shorter the the other blades that locked on to the either side of the sword near the center and completes the First Tsurugi. He trained constantly so that not only could he fight with each and in multiple combinations, but also able to fight with the other swords on his back.

As the two were finishing their training two MP's walked up to them and told the two swordsmen that Mr. Heidegger of Public Safety Maintenance, Miss Scarlet of the Weapon's Devision, and Tseng of the Turk wanted to see the both of them and Sephiroth . They walked down the hall following the MP's and wondered what the top members of the military division wanted with the both of them. When they arrived the two that led them there stood on either side of the door and the two SOLDIERs looked around the room.

They first noticed a tall man with long silver hair down to his waist wearing all black and the standard SOLDIER belt was leaning against the wall near them with a sword far longer than either of them ever used. They both recognized him as Sephiroth, both having worked with him once or twice and were somewhat acquaintances to him.

Standing next to the wall across from them was a man wearing a black suit and had black hair that was tied in a short ponytail, the Turks newly appointed leader Tseng. The two didn't really care for him because the Turks usually did the more shadier jobs for Shin-Ra, though the jobs the two did when teamed with the Turks weren't too bad.

Then there was the bearded black-haired man sitting at the table in the center of the room, they met Heidegger since it was his division that included the Turks and SOLDIER. He was another one that they didn't care for because he would rather use force even when peaceful solutions were present and he was the one that assigned the Turks' missions as well, but he was their boss so they obeyed him.

Last was a beautiful blond woman that was much older than either of them, Scarlet of the weapons division. They knew her because they needed to talk to her when they wanted the work to be done on their swords done.

Once the men at the door closed it Tseng began to speak, "Good, you are all here. We have a new mission for you. SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth, Zack, and Second Class Cloud, we need you three and these two men to go to the Nibelheim and Gongaga to inspect the mako reactors of these areas. There have been reports of an increase number of monsters in the areas and they are far more violent than usual." The three men all nodded and waited for him to continue. "You will have guides, but we feel better knowing that Shin-Ra has men that know the areas assigned as well. You will leave tomorrow morning and should arrive at Nibelheim in about a three day, from there you will stay at that town for five days to inspect the reactor then travel to Gongaga."

The three SOLDIERs nodded and were preparing to leave when Heidegger called them "Don't leave just yet, there is one other thing." The three SOLDIER paused and turned to the man. "Cloud, you have proven to be a very able member of SOLDIER and if your two fellow SOLDIERs decide to give their recommendations you will be promoted to First Class once this mission is completed. Tseng has made some observations and stated that your skills appear to be far above those of Second Class." Tseng just nodded as acknowledgment of what the bearded man said.

Cloud was a little shocked at what he just heard and was taken by surprise when Zack suddenly put him in a headlock. "Well congratulations Cloud, you know you're getting my recommendation. No one knows your skills better than me and I'm sure Sephiroth seen you in action, so I'm sure you have his approval." The two looked at Sephiroth who just laughed, but nodded his head in agreement.

Cloud was about to respond when they were they were interrupted by Scarlet, "Well gentlemen before you start celebrating, I need to ask Zack and Cloud for their swords." The two men looked at her in disbelief, both not wanting to part with their swords. "Unlike your previous swords these don't have any spaces for materia and we also need those swords to make some other adjustments on one of our other projects."

The men sighed, but removed their swords and Cloud put his in its final forms. They then handed the swords over to a couple of guards that just entered the room. The SOLDIER members all shared a laugh as the two new guards took the swords by the handle and quickly fell to the ground, apparently the swords were not as light as the young SOLDIERs made them appear.

Minutes later they all left the office, Cloud and Zack went to their home. Cloud instantly went to the hall closet where his old sward was stored (the one mentioned for Cloud in the first chapter), he may have had new ones, but he didn't plan on throwing away his old one. He then split the sword into it separate form and hand the second sword to Zack, both now holding a buster sword a little smaller than they were use to.

--------------------------------

Several days later the spiky-haired young men were riding in the back of the a military truck with Sephiroth and one of the two MP's that were assigned to accompany them while the other drove the truck. They were all in their usual uniforms, including Cloud wearing his high collared jacket and bandanna. At the moment Zack was trying not to laugh at his younger friend. _All this time and Cloud has yet to get over his motion sickness. He's lucky that he can handle it most of the time or that would be a big disadvantage for him, especially if he had to battle while on or in something moving._ Zack then began to talk with Cloud about Nibelhiem to get the blond's mind off his motion sickness.

Their conversation came to an end when they felt the truck stop. As they got out of the truck they saw the villagers standing outside their home to greet them. Cloud had to fight his the urge to hide behind the others because of some of the bad memories, but he reminded himself that he was a SOLDIER and not a weak little boy. Zack managed to control himself as well, he never really liked what Cloud had said about the people of this town. The other two men were quiet as always and Sephiroth was introducing them.

"Hello people of Nibelheim, I'm SOLDIER First Class Sephiroth. The two men behind me are my fellow SOLDIER members and the other two are Shin-Ra security forces. I am sure that you were told that were were coming here to inspect the mako generator and find the cause of the increased monster activity. I would like to request that the guide that was to be provided to us please make come forward so we know who will be accompanying us to the reactor."

There were murmurs in the crowd because there all heard about Sephiroth and his great strength, as well as those in SOLDIER. A teenage girl with dark long hair that went down her back appeared in front of the group and greeted them. She was wearing a white shirt with a brown skirt, vest, hat, and boots.

"That would be me, I'm your guide Tifa Lockhart." The young girl a smiled, "Welcome to Nibelheim, it is a pleasure to meet you." Her tone loud enough to be heard by the the Shin-Ra employees, but low enough for the villagers not to hear.

Zack began to grin when he heard her name and walked over to her, "Well you are pretty young lady. You said that your name was Tifa, right my lovely guide?" Tifa just blushed and nodded her head. _Looks like Cloud has good taste in women, I think they might make a cute couple._ Zack's grin grew as he tried not to laugh at the glare Cloud was sending at him, "Well I must say, that what I heard about your beauty doesn't do you much justice, but then again my source is a little outdated."

Tifa blush deepened a little, but she became curious about his statement, "You heard of me? I didn't know anyone from outside of this village even knew my name, well other then my martial arts sensai."

Zack let out a small laugh and leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "Let's just say that you and I have a mutual blond-haired friend. Since Sephiroth only said his own name, I'm SOLDIER First Class Zack. I'm believe that you may heard of me." He then stepped back a little and looked at her face change from one of slight embarrassment to one of recognition.

"You're Zack? Cloud's roommate?" She asked almost unbelieving. In the letter he sent, Cloud would talk about his fellow SOLDIER member. He said that not only did the man help him train, but they were also best friends and roommates.

"Oh...so you remember him I see. Maybe we could continue this at his house, I'm sure his mother would like to meet someone that knows her son. Sephiroth, do you mind?"

Sephiroth just shook his head, "That's fine with me, I'll take the men and get our rooms at the inn. Just take this quiet SOLDIER with you and we will inspect the reactor in the morning." He then walked over with the the two MP's and had them follow him toward the inn while the villagers went to their homes.

Tifa led Zack and the disguised Cloud to the Strife home. Tifa knocked on the door as she entered the house and found Mrs. Strife was in the kitchen preparing some tea.

"Hello Tifa, this is a nice surprise. I was just preparing some tea, would you like to join me?" The older woman asked.

Tifa nodded, "That would be nice, but I have some guests with me. You remember that Shin-Ra were suppose to send some people to check on the reactor today, right?" When she received a nod she continued, "Well one of them is that famous guy Sephiroth and another is Cloud's friend Zack!" The last part came out with more excitement then anything else she said.

Mrs. Strife was about to respond to the news when a male voice spoke up, "Well ladies I'm sorry to interrupt, but we were getting a little tired of standing outside. I hope that we're not intruding." Both women turned around to be see the black-haired man leaning against the wall by the door and his companion standing on the other side just looking at them. They were surprised that the two men could get inside without making a sound. As if reading their minds, Zack gave them an answer, "As SOLDIERs we sometimes have missions that require use to move completely undetected, getting in a simple home unnoticed is easy compared to sneaking past monster-infested territory or enemy bases without any means of concealment." He then took a closer look at the older woman, "Hmm...judging by the resemblance and the fact that we asked to go to Cloud's home, I'll assume that you're Mrs. Strife. It seems that time has been kind to your beauty. Well anyway I'm Zack, I pretty much helped Cloud with everything from finding a place to live to his training for SOLDIER."

Mrs. Strife giggled a little as she looked at the young men, "Well my son told me about you and what you did in his letter, it seems that you were a big help in him achieving his dream. He also said that you tend to act like flirt, but were a good person. Your girlfriend must be on a permanent sugar-high if this is a taste of the sweet things you say to her."

Zack closed his eyes and shook his head a bit while chuckling, "It seems that my reputation precedes me, I'll have to have a word with Cloud about keeping secrets. Around strangers he's as shy and quiet as a mouse, but around those that are close to him he's a bit more talkative and still a little shy." He glanced over at the man still standing near the door and asked, "Are you going to take those things off and talk or just stand there?"

Cloud just sighed as he pulled down his collar from his face and untied the bandanna to reveal his blond hair. "Hello mother, Tifa. It's been a while." Tifa covered her mouth as she stood surprised in place and the older woman went to hug her son.

After hugging him, she stepped back and looked a bit surprised herself as she got a better look at Cloud. "Well you look like my son, but there are some things different about you. You expression is a little different from when you left, I guess we have Zack to thank for that." She paused as if examining him and continued, "Let's see, I definitely felt some muscles that weren't there before, you should take off that coat. Also, why does it look like both of your and your friend's eyes are glowing?" The blond hair-woman asked.

Cloud and Zack both took off the straps they wore to hold their sword and leaned them against the wall. Then Zack began to explain while Cloud took off his coat. "Well to become a member of SOLDIER we have to have several medical tests, mental tests, and be exposed to a certain amount of pure mako energy. A visual side effect our eyes usually glow a little, that is one of the easiest ways to recognize a

SOLDIER." The two women nodded as if understanding the basics of what is needed to be a SOLDIER, but the two shared a gasp as they looked at Cloud.

Cloud was standing next to the slightly taller Zack in his dark red SOLDIER Second Class uniform, arms bare and face uncovered. While both women gasped for their own reason, they both was amazed by the changes Cloud had went through. He was still as lean as ever, but he had gained more muscles that were visible on his bare arms and tight shirt. Tifa had to resist the urge to have perverted thoughts of the young man standing in-front of her and just blushed as she composed her self. Cloud's mother was thinking about how much Cloud looked like his father, except he had her blond hair, and looked at the young man that was a friend of her son.

After that the two men began to tell the women about their missions, including Cloud and Zack working with the Turks to protect a scientist from some militant group whose name they couldn't recall. The ironic thing in another story was that while they were ordered to accompany some Turks, Zack managed to get a date with a girl the Turks were sent to talk to and were now going out for about eleven months. They laughed at the fact that Cloud was there, but was too shy to reveal his face or talk. As the night wore on Tifa went home and Zack went to the inn with his sword. Cloud stayed home and talked to his mother until they both fell asleep.

The next morning Cloud left his coat and bandanna with his mother as he rush to the Shin-Ra mansion. He had overslept a little and was running late. It had taken him less than a minute to arrive and was not out of breath because of his training. As he ran pass the townspeople to the three that were preparing to take a picture he strapped his blade holster.

"Zack, Sephiroth, sorry I'm late. I lost track of time talking to my mother last night and went to sleep later than expected," said the spiky headed blond. Most of the crowd were surprised, some recognized him and were wondering why he was so familiar with the other two men.

Sephiroth looked at the younger man and spoke, "Glad you finally made it, Cloud. I know that our guide would be a be a great aid in the mountains, but having a SOLDIER that knows the area as well as you would be a great asset as well."

Zack walked up to Cloud and lightly hit his shoulder. "So did you tell your mother about your promotion after I left? Bet she's proud that her son will be a First Class SOLDIER when we report back to Midgar." The crowd including Tifa were stunned. Sure Tifa knew that Cloud was a Second Class and Zack's favorite partner, but she didn't realize that he was going to be a First Class when they return back to Shin-Ra. The villagers were surprised that the little troublemaker of their village was strong enough to be in the same rank as Sephiroth.

After the crowd quieted down, Tifa's father took the picture that he was planning on doing before Cloud arrived. The picture had Sephiroth standing to the side of the others, Cloud and Zack had one arm around the other's shoulder, and Tifa was standing in-front of the spiky-haired men with the Shin-Ra mansion in the background.

The journey went as planned with a few monster attacks, until a giant bird like monster appeared. The beast were no match for three of the best men in SOLDIER and was quickly defeated, but the creature's body fell on the rope bridge and caused all of them to fall. One of the MP's was lucky by being thrown close to the slanted cliff wall and slid down to the ground, but the other was thrown to far from the group and broke his leg in the fall. Sephiroth used this long coat to slow his decent until he got to the ground. Zack maneuvered close to the wall to stabilize himself and flip of to make a perfect landing one the ground.

Cloud still had his sword out and stabbed it into the cliff face, but while he was slowing down he grabbed Tifa's wrist with his free hand. After pulling her closer to him, Cloud pulled his sword out of the cliff and flipped down to the ground much like Zack did, but placing his sword on his back mid-flip and carrying Tifa. Cloud held her for a few seconds before either realized it and then put her down with them both blushing.

"Well...umm...I did promise to rescue you if you were in danger, right?" Tifa just nodded as she did not trust her voice.

Zack and Sephiroth would have laughed if it wasn't for the fact that they had an injured man. They had the other MP act as a human crutch after they patched his wounds and tied a splint to his leg. The would inspect the reactor first, then go back to Nibelheim together to prevent other monster attacks. They went to the reactor through a cave that could be used as an alternate to the bridge and saw a natural mako spring, Cloud collected a restore materia that had formed there and placing in the spare slot on his sword.

Cloud felt a chill go down his spine as they arrived at the reactor and prepared to enter. Tifa was asked to wait outside with the other to men as the three SOLDIERs went on with the inspection, it was Shin-Ra property and only Shin-Ra personnel were allowed to enter or see what was inside.

They went inside and Sephiroth explained to the other two about what happened in the reactor and what was in the pods that they seen, even the odd chamber that share the name of his mother Jenova. After that their inspection was done and they all left the reactor, all that entered were a little shaken by what they had seen. Cloud and Zack were beginning to wonder if they were working for the right people if those same people turned others into monsters, but Sephiroth was wondering about his connection to Jenova.

When they made it back to town Tifa went home while the MP's went to the town's doctor. Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth went to look into the Shin-Ra mansion. After some searching they found a secret passageway that led underneath the mansion. There they found a library, but Cloud and Zack soon left after reading a few of the texts. They were also bothered by Sephiroth's odd behavior when he was reading and his decision to stay do there to read more.

The younger SOLDIER members decided to check on the men that were with them and go to sleep afterwards. The next morning they went to check on Sephiroth and the silver-haired was talking like a madman. The two were concerned and told the two guards to keep an eye on him while they went to practice with their swords a little distance outside of the town and killed more of the aggressive monsters in the surrounding area.

They went about two miles outside the city and drew their blades, Zack had spent the previous week getting use to the different sword and Cloud held the sword's twin as they both got in their ready stance. They just kept to the basics and eventually moved on to the dangerous monsters that were attracted to their display. They had finished with the monsters when they heard clapping, they both turned quickly to see an older man in his forty's or fifty's.

"Well I must say that you two young men seem to be quite skilled. With those blades you two are a each a force to be reckoned with." The older man smiled at them and finished speaking, "Sadly I would not stand a chance against either of you since you are both faster and stronger than me, but I would like to believe that I could at least be a match for one of you in unarmed combat." The older man grinned after his last statement.

Cloud and Zack put their swords away as the man approached. They then introduced themselves to the man, who introduced himself as Zangan. Cloud recognized the name as being the traveler that was training Tifa in martial arts. It was getting late as the three were talking and the sun had set several hours ago. As they got closer to the village they saw a strange orange glow coming from the village and a lot of smoke rising up, they all realized that there was a fire. They all ran to the village and wondered what happened.

That's it for now.

The next chapter will be the confrontation with Sephiroth and the capture.

**A/N:** That information included that Aerith being looked after by the Turks, Cloud and Zack working with the Turks on several occasions, the incident in Nibelheim, and the fact that Cloud was shy and used either his uniform collar or helmet to hid his face were all pretty accurate.

As for Tifa's thoughts, well male or female you know that those kind of thoughts slip into the minds of teens sometimes when they see someone really attractive to them.


	3. Tragedy

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII, not me.

**A/N: **Chapter three is here. Hopefully I my edits are better than the original. I finally got a chance to look at Last Order and the edits in this chapter were influenced a little by it and there will be some spoilers, though I changed some of it.

Back the story

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

**Brothers by the Blade**

**3.Tragedy**

The three men arrived at the city only to see it ablaze with many of the villagers lying on the ground either dead or dying. They all went immediately to try and help the people that were still alive and search for other survivors. Cloud soon found one of the men that accompanied them to Nibelheim on the ground near the in and went to help him.

As he helped the man sit-up against the wall, he began to questions, "Are you okay? What happened? Who did this?" The man didn't answer his question and simply passed out.

Cloud looked toward the mansion and only saw what appeared to beTifa running past the flames to the mountains, most likely going to the reactor since it was the only thing of significance that way. Cloud and Zangan continued to look for survivors with Zack.

Minutes later they found a still conscious man and he explained what happened, " That man Sephiroth, he's a monster. He set fire to our homes and used that sword of his on everyone that he could. He went up to the reactor once he was done here, but Tifa's father was there earlier and she just left to look for him. You have to hurry and save her."

Zack looked at Cloud and saw the worry in his eyes, he then placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "Cloud you help your home, I'll go to protect Tifa until you're done. I'll also deal with Sephiroth, there is no way that he'll get away with what he done here." Cloud nodded and went to search for more survivors. Zack was about leave for the reactor when Zangan stopped him.

"You can't go up there, Sephiroth is very dangerous and can probably kill anyone that stands in his way." The old man tried to change Zack's mind, but if he knew Zack he would have known that he was fighting a lost cause.

Zack stood there with his back to the man as he spoke, "If you think I'm going to let Sephiroth get away with what he did here then you thought wrong. I can't let such a waste of human life go unpunished. This wasn't even a fight, it was a merciless slaughter." He then looked over his shoulder at the older man, his mako-eye glowing, "Besides, I'm not just anyone. I'm a SOLDIER First Class." He then began to run to the reactor and hoping that he can get there in time.

----------------------------

Cloud was beginning to become doubtful for survivors, he brought the ones they found to the entrance of the town with the survivors Zangan found. The survivors were brought there because the area was safe from the fire and there was little chance of it spreading there. He and the older man began to tend to the people with either medical supplies or restore materia. So far they found two women, three men, two little girls, and four boys.

While searching Cloud realized that he had either found all the bodies or survivors with the exception of Tifa's father and his mother. _That guy must have been right about Mr. Lockhart, but I wonder where mother..._ Cloud stopped what he was doing and rushed home the instant thought of his mother entered his mind. When he arrived at their home he found her in the middle of the floor, bleeding to death. He rushed over to her and began to try to use the cure power of the restore materia to heal her, but it wasn't having any effect because the wounds were too severe.

Cloud then held his mother in his arms as he began to cry. "Mother! Mother! Please hang on. Please mother! You have to hold on I'll get some help."

Mrs. Strife raised her hand to her son's cheek, wiping away some of the tears. "Oh Cloud, my handsome son. It seems that time has run out for me. I use to be the nurse to the town doctor and I know how bad my condition is. No doctor, materia, or potion can save me from these wounds. I'm not really sad though my son, I will get to see your father again." She then looked into her son's glowing eyes, "My only regrets are that I have to leave you before I see you grow further into a man, that I will not see you final ask Tifa out, and that I won't get the chance to hold my grandchildren. Please do me a favor Cloud, take care of her. She's a special girl and I know that she cares for you despite you two never really being close." Cloud tearfully nodded his head and she continued, "One other thing Cloud. Your father was from Gongaga, maybe you can...go...for a..visit...some...time..." She then went limp in her son's arms as he continued to cry for a couple more minutes.

Cloud carried his mother's lifeless body and laid her among the other dead citizens that they had found. Nibelhiem was a very small village. Most that lived there would leave for the larger city and return either to settle down or visit, it was for that reason that the population was usually less than a hundred people. _It seemed that there will be eighteen survivors including the old man, Mr. Lockhart, Tifa, and the four of us from Sh..._ Cloud's thought suddenly stopped as he remembered that he didn't find Tifa went after her father and Sephiroth was there.

He then began to run at his top speed to the reactor, it would not take him long to get there because of his training, SOLDIER enhancements, and knowing the area so well. _I already lost one person that I care about, there's noway that I'm losing another._

---------------------------------

While Cloud and Zangan were helping the people of Nibelheim, Zack was getting closer to the reactor and Sephiroth. He could not understand what happened to Sephiroth. He knew that it must have had something to do with the disturbing things they read in the secret basement. _Was whatever we read in those notes enough to make the strongest SOLDIER in the world go on a killing rampage?_

He saw the reactor a small distance up ahead and what appeared to be Tifa's father laying on the ground in front of the reactor. He barely saw Tifa enter the reactor with Sephiroth's bloodied sword in her hands. He had missed the last words that her father shared with the girl and when he checked the older man Zack knew he was dead. He looked at the mako reactor and was readying himself to deal with Sephiroth. _I better go protect her or Cloud would have my head if I didn't do everything in my power to keep her safe, but I hope arrives soon. I'm good, but Sephiroth is better and there is little chance that I can beat him alone. Even if I lose I will do my best to make this as difficult a fight for him as I can._

He then saw a small crater with knuckle prints in the center and about half the size of a basketball near where Tifa was kneeling. Zack let out a small whistle. _I'll have to tell Cloud to be careful about angering her later. She said that her training was incomplete, I can only imagine the power she has when she's fully trained._ Zack then took his sword in his hand and looked toward the generator. _I always wondered how Cloud and I would do against Sephiroth, but I never thought that this would be the way that I find out. _He then walked inside the massive structure.

Inside Selphiroth walking toward the Jenova chamber at the top of the steps with Tifa running up behind him and jumping in the air to slash him with his own sword. Unfortunately for her Sephiroth grabbed the hilt of the sword with one hand and held her a few inches above the ground since she was still holding the hilt as well. In one quick motion he made her let go of the sword and slashed her across her stomach with enough force to be thrown down the stairs. As she fell down the steps to the floor she replayed the events that happened before she tried to attack the sliver-haired man.

----------_Flashback-------------_

Tifa arrived at the reactor and found her father laying on the ground, bleeding from a bad stab wound with Sephiroth's bloody sword sticking out of the ground next to him. She ran to the fallen man's side and began to cry.

"Father you can't die. What can I do to save you? Please tell me! I don't want to lose you like we lost mother!" The young girl continued to sob as she leaned over her fallen father's body, tears falling on his sleeve.

Mr. Lockhart weakly tried to bring his arm up so that he could hug his daughter, but could not raise it high enough and Tifa just took his hand hand in hers, "I'm sorry my little angel, but it seems that I just don't have the strength any more. I'm sorry that I can't be there for you anymore and I'm sorry to add more grief for you to bare." He then looked up at Tifa. "Please stay safe Tifa and and run away. Tell Cloud I'm sorry for how I acted when he was younger, he'll know what I mean."

Tifa nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes and held her father's hand until she no longer felt any life within him. Tifa then unleashed some of her anger with punch to the ground near her. She then stood up and started mumbling to herself.

"Sephiroth did this, he did this to father and the town." She paused as she thought a few seconds and spoke again, "Sephiroth...SOLDIER...Shin-Ra...Mako reactor... I hate them, all of them!" She then proved her massive strength by grabbing the heavy sword and ran into the reactor. If anyone had seen her do that they would have been impressed since only the three SOLDIERs in that town were able to lift the very long sword that easily with one hand.

_--------------End Flashback-------------_

That led her to her current position on the ground with the bleeding slash wound across her stomach and wondering where was Cloud, he had promised to save her when she was in trouble. That was how Zack found her when he entered the reactor. He tried to wake her and when she finally came to she wondered what he was going to do. _Is he like Sephiroth? Did they just come here to destroy my home? Is he going to finish what Sephiroth started? He is Cloud's friend, maybe he is different._

Tifa then looked up at the black-haired man, "You guys, you only came here for an investigation, right? That was why I was your guide, but why did it end like this?" She then looked up with tears in her eyes, "Shin-Ra, Sephiroth, and SOLDIER, I hate all of it. If you are with them, I hate you too. Please tell me that you and Cloud had nothing to do with this, I don't think that I can hate him too. Please tell me!"

Zack looked down at the girl, "I will say now that I am sorry for what Sephiroth did." He then had a serious expression on his face. "I can honestly tell tell you with all my heart and soul that neither Cloud nor I had anything to do with what happened here. We didn't even know what was going on until we talked to some survivors, but now I will put an end to this."

He then walked up the steps to the closed door of the chamber and charged his energy into his sword, then released it in an energy slash that traveled across the ground and destroyed the door. Inside he saw Sephiroth talking to the metallic figure known as Jenova, he was saying something about a plan to go to the Promised Land and was calling that thing mother.

Zack was angry and started yelling, "Sephiroth! Why the hell did you slaughter those people?! They were just simple villagers, they were absolutely no threat to you! Why did you hurt Tifa?! I want answers!"

The long hair SOLDIER just ignored the questions and laughed, "The fools have come again mother, you were suppose to rule this planet with your superior power and intelligence, but those fools like this one didn't want that took that chance away from you. Don't worry mother, you can come with me and we can fix that." He then ripped the metal figure off the wall and threw it aside, behind it was a tube with an odd disfigured being that looked to be shaped like a woman wearing some kind of helmet with a metal plate with 'Jenova' engraved in it. "Well now we finally meet face to face mother."

Zack was disturbed by this and walked up behind Sephiroth, then leveled his blade to the other man's neck, "What the hell happened to you, Sephiroth?!"

Sephiroth just laughed , "Why should I answer a traitor?" He then spun around lightning fast and grabbed his sword, and slashed at the Zack.

Zack brought his sword to block and sparks flew between the blades before the force of Sephiroth's strike sent him across the large room. He then jumped of one of the large pipes and brought his sword into a downward slashing motion, but the stronger SOLDIER just jumped in the air out of the way of the huge blade. Zack then jumped in the air ofter Sephiroth and tried to slash him again by bringing the blade over his head for the attack, only to have his strike parried again. Sephiroth tried his own attack that Zack blocked, but the move shifted their position in the air and their blades met again.

Sephiroth then used his superior strength to throw Zack back down toward pipes below them. Zack was off-guard for a second and long-haired used the moment to knock him off balance. Zack was then thrown into another pipe and left a dent from where his back hit. He stood up as quickly as possible and was then barely able to block Sephiroth's attack. He then made some distance between them and sent his energy slash attack across the pipe, but it was easily disbursed by his opponent. Unfortunatly Zack was wounded and blood was dripping down his right arm.

Zack looked up at Sephiroth, "What happened to you? You use to be someone I could trust." He then saw the psychotic look in the other man's eyes. "You're not the man that I knew, not the man I thought that I might call a friend instead of ally."

Sephiroth laughed again "I was the chosen one. The one that would one day rule everything. I am the one that was chosen to take the land from you fools and return it to my mother's people, the Cetra. That is the reason that I was born, the reason that I exist." He then looked at Zack and grinned, "Now to answer your question from earlier, I did that to the town to punish your people for the betrayal that they did to my mother's people."

In less than a second Sephiroth appeared in front of Zack and delivered a massive slash that he was able to block, but it sent him flying into another pipe near Jenova's tube and he fell to the floor in front of it. Zack tried to stand up, but was met with the sight of Sephiroth. The long haired man delivered another strong slash that Zack blocked with his sword, but it was so strong that it caused him to drop his sword on the ground as he flew right out of the entrance to the chamber and crash into one of the pods. He was able to stay conscious, but unable to move.

Zack looked around from his position and saw Tifa being tended to by Cloud, who had recently arrived. Cloud had use the restore materia to slow her bleeding since it wasn't strong enough to completely heal her and wrapped her stomach with some bandages he brought, he then picked her up and moved her into a more comfortable position against one of the pods near where she fell. He had seen Zack fly out of the room they saw that odd metal figure and guessed that Sephiroth was in there from Zack's condition, he then used the materia to try to reduce the pain Zack was feeling.

He the walked back over to Tifa and looked at the injured girl as she regain consciousness, "Cloud, you came to my rescue just like you promised." She smiled as she looked at him.

Cloud had a weak smile on his face, "Yeah, but I was a little late and you were hurt."

"Don't worry about that now Cloud, you're here to help me and that's all that matters," She replied before passing out again.

Cloud brushed some hair out of her content looking face, then stood up with his sword tightly held in his hand as he ran into the chamber and picked up the other blade. He then combined the two swords into their full form didn't even gave Sephiroth a chance to turn around from the tube as he drove the large blade through the stomach of the psychopath, creating a large crack in the tube as well. The injured man turned and stared Cloud when the blade was removed.

"You killed them and they are not coming back. Mother, the village, you even tried to kill Tifa. I will never forgive you for what you did." As Sephiroth fell to his knees, insane green catlike mako-eyes looked into angry blue mako-eyes, "I really respected you Sephiroth, I wanted nothing more than to be just like you. You were strong, brave, and said to be the best. I thought that one day I might someday attain that, be well respected by my home, and being able to protect it from danger. I never would have thought that danger would come from someone that I admired, someone that was an ally, someone that was respected by many. I just don't understand why you had decided to destroy my village, kill so many innocent people while injuring the rest, and killing my mother!"

Cloud began to run toward Sephiroth with his sword raise as shouted the man's name, but he didn't expect his opponent to recover so quickly. Sephiroth stood up as if he was unaffected by his wound and stabbed Cloud through the chest and out his back, barely missing his heart and grazing his right lung.

"Cloud you may be a good SOLDIER to inflect this wound on me, but someone like you won't be able to kill me. You and Zack may have had a chance together, but neither of you can defeat me alone." Sephiroth decided to taunt the young man as he swung his blade to throw him into the wall.

Cloud coughed-up some blood as he dropped his sword and looked at Sephiroth's grinning face. That grin and his taunting angered Cloud more as he tried to fight the pain. The grinning psycho in-front of him had killed most of the villagers, set fire to the town, killed his mother, severely wounded Zack and Tifa, and just stabbed him in the chest.

Cloud released his anger when Sephiroth stabbed him again by pulling long blade further through his body and planted his feet on the ground. This surprised Sephiroth as the blond SOLDIER used his strength and the the sword to throw him against Jenova's tube. Cloud fell to the ground and was breathing hard until he heard the sound of glass shattering and liquid hitting the floor, the impact caused the crack from earlier to shatter the glass tube. Sephiroth picked up Cloud's sword and used it to sever Jenova's head from the rest of it's body. Cloud then stood up with the sword still in his chest and was preparing to fight despite his injury. Sephiroth then jumped to a pipe that was hanging over the reactor's power source( the lifestream) and threw Cloud's sword at him, which he was barely able to dodge. Sephiroth used the distraction to jump into the glowing river below.

Cloud sighed as he fell to the floor from exhaustion and crawled through out of the chamber with the long blad still sticking out of him, the last thing that he seen before he lost consciousness was a female member of the Turks standing near him. _I hope that Tifa was able to escape, I have a bad feeling about this. Unfortunately I don't think that Zack and I would be so lucky..._ He then fell unconscious like he noticed Zack did. As he slept he wondered when he would wake up or if he had put to much of a strain on his body.

-------------------------------------

There were several things that neither of the spiky-haired SOLDIERs knew had happened or was going to happened. The first thing that they didn't know was that the uninjured MP had contacted Shin-Ra when Sephiroth had started to killing rampage. That led to the next fact that they didn't know. By the time they started their confrontation in the reactor, several members of SOLDIER, the Turks, and other military personnel were investigating the city and two arrived at the reactor near the end of Cloud's fight.

They also didn't know that Professor Hojo of Shin-Ra's Science Research Division was the person leading the men, since Nibelheim was the where a great amount of his research was located. The two didn't know that those individuals were able to arrive so quickly because they were all stationed outside of Cosmo Canyon. They didn't know that Hojo had ordered that both of them be taken to the basement of the Shin-Ra mansion with the other eleven survivors for his experiments, he was especially interested in Cloud since he was the one that defeated Sephiroth.

There were several good things that they didn't know about as well. One was that Zangan found Tifa in the reactor a little before the Shin-Ra security forces arrive and took Tifa down the mountain to the town on the other side that was called Rocket Town. There he was able to get a little more help for her from a nice woman named Shera and a foul-mouth bad tempered man named Cid. Despite how the man appeared, he and Shera were able to help Zangan heal Tifa enough to make it to Midgar to get the help she needed. The man was even nice enough to use his plane to transport them a short distance outside of Midgar.

Another thing that the two didn't know was that among the Turks sent to Nibelheim, Tseng was with them. Tseng knew that he couldn't disobey orders to help the two SOLDIERs, but he knew that it would not be proper for him to let the dead people of the village a proper burial. He order the men that were not dealing with the remaining fire or survivors to collect the bodies and follow him. He had a report of the entire town, including the location of the cemetery and the names of all current residents. He it took several hours to have all people buried and he had made a list to inform him of the location of each grave so he could have them properly marked when Shin-Ra rebuild the town.

That's it for this chapter.

And fare warning, I'm not sure if I'm even a half-decent action writer since I'm not to familiar with some terms used, so forgive me if it turned out bad. Sorry for the death scenes, but I felt that they should be touching since they were the only ones that either Cloud or Tifa had. Lastly, it was never said how Zangan got her to Midgar (that I know of) so I was a little creative with one of their stops and introduced Cid early.(The time frame should be several months after the failed rocket launch). Another thing is that I don't know if the attack was the Braver or one of his other attacks, but I did recognize it as the same attack used in FF7:AC when Cloud was fighting in the Sleeping Forest.


	4. Escape

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII, not me.

**A/N: **Here is chapter 4. This covers Nibelheim to Midgar. The two will meet some familiar faces here, but Cloud will not interact as they offer their help. I also plan to follow the Last order a little, but not to much I hope.

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

**4.The Escape**

As time passed, Zack and Cloud were apart of Hojo's experiments. Hojo had seen the site of the fight and it seem that the two First Class SOLDIERs were able to beat Sephiroth. Hojo was correct when he said that both men were First Class, because Cloud was promoted despite the bad outcome of the mission and for defeating Sephiroth.

Hojo was disturbed that Sephiroth was defeated and began to focus his new experiments of cloning Sephiroth by using mako energy and and Jenova cells in extreme quantities on his test subject. He had declared his deceased subjects as failures and put a Roman numeral on each survivor's left shoulder, it was a little habit that he had started with a certain former Turk he once knew. So far the total that survived the initial test procedures were three of the boys, two of the men, one of the women and of course the two SOLDIERs who all survived Sephiroth's massacre.

It had been four years since the incident with Nibelheim and at the moment Hojo was in Midgar, he was working on a new "specimen" that he had attained about two years prior when he was passing through Cosmo Canyon, his plan to get it was delayed because of Sephiroth's slaughter. The new residents of Nibelheim were usually watching over the other experiments of Hojo and seldom checked on his longterm projects.

Despite surviving the earlier experiment, Hojo was having problems with Cloud and Zack. His problem was that because of they went through a more minor procedure when they joined SOLDIER, they were able to adapt and reject the new treatment. It was having small effects on Cloud though since his will wasn't as strong as Zack's. There also seemed to be some remnants of Sephiroth's mind involved that kept forcing Cloud into his subconscious and made it harder for him to fight the treatment, but no one other than Cloud knew that.(remember, Sephiroth had some control over those with Jenova cells in them between when he was sucked into the lifestream to FF7, here is fighting Cloud for control)

Zack was able to become conscious a couple of days ago and was biding his time, trying to get some feeling back in his limbs. He was ready to get out and he was angry, because he was able to hear and remember everything said or done in the room even though he was unconscious(Cloud too, he just can't react yet).

Zack was able to get out of the tube that he was floating in and he had already made up his plan. _Let's see, I have to get Cloud out of this thing and then we can escape from here. Then I ...we can escape and become mercenaries. We are friends and we will stick together even if I have to drag him out of here, I still can't believe that they had us locked in here for four years. Well now that I decided on a plan, I need to find some clothes. At least they had some decency to leave us in out boxers, but still._

As Zack looked around the room he found what looked like his uniform and Cloud's completed sword, but he couldn't find Cloud's uniform. He did find a spare purple SOLDIER uniform, but no red. After getting dressed, he then found a couple of folders on a desk near the tube and read them both. One was all the information that he knew Shin-Ra had on him and the things he heard the scientist talking about, but the other was about Cloud. As Zack looked though it he realized that Cloud was officially promoted the a couple hours before they were captured. He let out a small chuckle, it was ironic that Cloud would get promoted the same day that he would have most likely started to hate Shin-Ra.

Zack then helped Cloud out of the tube he was in and help him get dressed since he appeared to be in a daze. Zack found a bag with about ten different types of materia and at least three of each kind(bag of 30, has 3 fires, 3 restore, etc.) sitting near their sword. He put the folders in the bag and placed it on Cloud's back and placed the sword on his on back.

As the two were escaping, they made a wrong turn and found a room with a coffin in the center. Zack leaned Cloud against the wall and began to examine it. Without warning the lid moved off and a golden metal claw griped the rim of the left side of coffin. Then a red cloaked man in a black body suit sat up from within the coffin and looked at the other two men.

"Who are you and why are you disturbing my slumber?" Asked a deep raspy voice.

Zack hesitantly explained their story, "I'm Zack and this is Cloud, we are First Class in SOLDIER. We were on a mission to Nibelhiem with Sephiroth about four years ago I think and some time during our third day in the village he went mad and starting talking about Jenova, his mother, and ruling the planet. The two of us fought him separately and from what I heard, he disappeared after Cloud defeated him. That Hojo guy captured us after the fight and decided to experiment on us instead of helping us. We just escaped from not to long ago. I don't plan on returning to Shin-Ra and I doubt that Cloud will once he actual wakes up, but I think I will try to get back at Hojo and Shin-Ra after we fully heal."

"I see, so you were experiments of Hojo as well and now that you are free you want to recuperate before you go after either Hojo or Shin-Ra?" Zack nodded. " I must warn you that going against Shin-Ra is very foolish, but I agree that plan is a wise course. You should wait until your friend recovers, he's suffering from mako poisoning from what I can tell. You said that your name is Zack and his is Cloud, well let me properly introduce myself. I am Vincent Valentine, former Turks member and bearer of Chaos."

Zack nodded his head again as he shifted a little so that he could hold Cloud up a little easier. Now he knew what was wrong with Cloud and who he was dealing with. _I heard about some of the effects of mako poisoning and how long it lasts depends on the individual. I know that Cloud is strong, but with those experiments it might take him a while to return to normal._

Zack's attention returned to Vincent as he continued speaking, "I have put my self in seclusion as punishment for my sins, but I am intrigued by your goals." He then took another glance at the two men, "I think that I may aid you later since it is very likely that you will meet with Hogo some time in the future, but I have been out of touch with the present world for too long. I will be traveling around the world for some time to see what has occurred during my time of solitude and when we meet again I will join you. I am quite curious about the one with you being said to have killed Sephiroth, in truth I am curious about the both of you, there is something familiar...Anyway if you are looking for a means of escape, follow me"

Vincent then touched a hidden switch in his coffin and a portion of the wall shifted to reveal a hidden passageway. He then led the two for what appeared to be miles until they reached the end. When Zack looked around they appeared to be about two miles outside of Nibelheim. He then turned back to Vincent, only to find him gone and a couple of chocobo in his place. Zack just shrugged, helped Cloud get on one, climbed on the back of the other, and they were off.

The two were traveling fast on the giant birds were at Cosmo Canyon within a couple of days, where they were able to get supplies and a pack to store them in. They rested there for about week and ran into some trouble some time after they left the town. Their two chocobo had ran-off as soon as they entered Cosmo Canyon, so they began to walk and Zack had the idea of traveling through the forest since they did not want to be seen. Apparently they weren't the only ones that with that idea, because after traveling for a month through the forests of the Western continent they ran into a dozen of Shin-Ra's military operatives searching through the forest for them. Zack had expected that since they had been missing from the basement of the Shin-Ra mansion for weeks and apparently whoever discovered their absence was smart enough to have Shin-Ra military searching the forests of the continent.

The men with swords tried to sneak up on the two with three coming from the trees and two on the ground, but when they initiated their attack they underestimated the skills of a SOLDIER First Class. The three men that jumped out of the three were quickly killed when Zack placed his hand on his sword and slashed them in half in less than a second while placing Cloud against a tree. The two on the ground though that he was off balance and tried to get in close, but he proved that he was still in control as he split the sword in its separate form and killed them with an upward slash with both blades. He then put the swords back together and placed it on his back.

_I thought they knew that ordinary soldiers are no match for me. They are lucky that Cloud is still out of it or we would take out the ones that are waiting back with guns._ He then helped Cloud up and slung his friend's arm over his shoulder so he could help the blond walk. Just then the other soldiers started to open fire and the two ran to a cliff and jumped off. After running for a good distance they stopped to have a moment's rest.

"Those guys can be a real pain, but I never seen anyone deal with them like you did." At the sound of the young feminine Zack turned around to see nothing, but when he looked up a girl sitting on a branch above them. She had short black hair wearing tan shorts and a green shirt, as well as an odd looking arm guard and what appeared to be a giant shuriken on her back. She was obviously younger then either of them. "You mind telling me why you're running from them? I thought that guys wearing your uniforms worked with those other military guys."

Zack tried to think of something, decided to tell her some of the truth, "I'm Zack, anyway we use to work for the same people, but our old boss decided to do something to us and we didn't like it. We just got away and we're planning to head to Midgar to start with a fresh beginning, but they sent those men after us." He then moved his arm a little to get the girl to look at Cloud. "You can tell just by looking at my friend that what they did wasn't good. I could take them easily and so could he, but we ran since I can't leave Cloud unprotected in the state that he's in." The young girl looked at the two and nodded, though it didn't really matter since she hated those other people chasing them anyway.

"Well I'm Yuffie, a young kunoichi." Zack was a little confused at the term and the girl signed "That's a female ninja. Anyway I can help you get away them...for a price." The young girl grinned. _I can be a nice person and still get some gil for materia._(I know she usually steals it, but for now I'm having her avoiding some trouble)

Zack sighed as he though about what to do. He was able to get some supplies, but had little gil. He reach in his bag and took out five materai crystals. "I'm sorry, but this is all that we have. We don't have much money, but you can sell these for a good price since they are at least level two.

The eyes of the young ninja went wide at what she saw. _This guy is giving me these for just helping him get away from those other guys? He must either be really generous or very desperate. I better accept before he changes his mind. _"Don't worry, these will do fine, I just wanted money to get more materia anyway. Just follow me and we can get away from them by water." Yuffie had them folller her to the coast about several miles to the east of the forest.

When they arrived they found a small wooden boat with a sail that could probably hold about five people. "My village isn't as advanced as some places, this is one of the boats that we use to get from continent to continent. If the water is good and the wind works with us then we should be at the Eastern Continent in two weeks, if the weather is constantly bad then then maybe a month . If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a materia hunter and I hope you will give me some more for helping you cross the ocean."

Zack looked at the girl then the bag. He still had twenty remaining materia, he gave her five to get them there and used five to purchase their supplies. He then reach in the pack and pulled out the folders that he stored with the materia. He then placed the folders in his bag with their supplies then pulled out about six materia (fire, ice, lightning, restore, gilwill explain later, and seal) and looked at Yuffie, who was smiling in anticipation. She was surprised when he tossed the bag with the remaining fourteen materai to her.

"You can have all that if you can get us there, most of it consists of attack and enhancement materia that we don't need now. We can have them replaced later after we get to Midgar." Zack told her this as he help Cloud into the boat. Yuffie soon followed them and they left.

Yuffie was right about the time and it took them a six weeks to sail since the water currents were almost always against them while the wind rarely worked in their favor, but they were able to stop at some of the many small islands to restock with fresh water and fruit when they were low on supplies or tired of fish. Zack got to know the young girl as they traveled since there was little to do on the small boat over time. He had heard about the war with the ninja nation and even had a few missions there, but he never hear the other side of the story before. He knew that he was doing the right thing for most of his missions, but there were others that made him wonder.

---------------------------

Now with Cloud everything was a different story. It seems that his mind was split thanks to Hojo. It seems that the inner-mind takes on the form of the place the person cares for most when the conscious mind enters through meditation or, in Cloud case, experimentation. Cloud's mind took the form of his home village, but it was badly damaged like he had last seen it.

As he walked around the town he couldn't find any sign of life. Eventually he found what appeared to be a little boy being yelled at by adults for no reason. Just as he was about to intervene, he noticed the boy looked like him and remembered this as one of his earlier memories of the villagers' treatment. Soon what he was seeing changed to the point where he heard Tifa talk about traveling up Mt. Nibel to his the treatment after. The last things he saw was his mother lying dead on the floor of his home while the rest of his village burned, then he saw Zack and Tifa injured in the reactor.

"You agree that this looks bad ,huh?" Cloud heard a kid's voice and looked around to find the child like version of himself. "It looks like the experiments of that man are making you relive your most painful memories to make you weaker mentally, it doesn't help that there is another man that's trying to influence you as well. If your wondering, I'm your inner self. I'm the result of you trying to separate the weak child you were and the painful memories you have from the person you are today."

The boy then gestured to the village "This town represents you mind. Because of the experiments done on you, you are somewhat mentally unstable, but this can be fixed before you leave." The young Cloud then looked serious "Most want to forget the things of the past, it often causes them to repress bad memory and become easier to manipulate later. I think that unless you accept what I represent you will become weak enough to be controlled that man you fought, he and Hojo already messed with our mind far more than anyone should have. So what do you say, accept me and fix our mind or do leave me here and probably become someone's puppet?"

Cloud was listening to the kid careful as he thought over his options. He could either deal with his problems of the past and move on instead of burying them or he could let them sit and make him weaker. The choice was obvious and it just took his child form one glance to see that his decision was made. The child then became transparent and walked inside Cloud. After the two merged the town appeared to get darker, but soon became bright again and the mental town was beginning to rebuild itself. Cloud then felt his consciousness slowly returning to his body.

The time of Cloud's mental trip actually started about two years into the experiment and continued though most of the trip to Midgar. Even though his consciousness was in the deeper area of his mind, his subconscious was able to record all that was happening around him into his memory for later recollection. So as he was returning to his body, Cloud was gaining all the information that happened to him and Zack.

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Things were not going to well as Zack had hope after their escape. They had separated from Yuffie since they reached the coast a small distance from an old non-functioning reactor the five months prior. Zack had thought they could restock in Junon. There he learned that they weren't forgotten. At first they were hiding in the inn since those affiliated with Shin-Ra stayed in the above city. Unfortunately for them the owner had a teen daughter that one of the soldiers from above had been trying to get a date with, so when he came to visit his uncooperative love he recognized the two and informed the other military stationed in the military headquarters above.

The two then led them through the Mythril Mine and the giant serpent infested swamp on the other side They then laid low in the some forest near a Chocobo Ranch. They were able to get supplies from the man that ran the ranch as they waited for the search of the area to die down. When Zack felt that they had waited long enough they continued their long journey to Midgar, but they were ambushed about forty miles away from a village called Kalm about nine months since their escape and the point why Zack was upset with their bad luck the previous night.

Zack had put Cloud down and placed his sword in front of him so that he could take care of the men without worrying about his friend's safety. A dozen were beaten when he easily dodged their bullets and had them shoot their allies. He then made most of the group follow him and attained a motorcycle from them, but the problem was that now they had the Turks after them as well. He quickly grabbed Cloud and they made their escape.

Zack was able to lose their helicopter by going into a tunnel that would lead them to the center of Kalm, he knew that because they investigated the tunnel on their first mission as SOLDIERs together. It was an old service tunnel that was used for traveling or transporting things from the mine, unfortunately that entrance would not be used again for a long time. Zack dropped a grenade that he acquired from one of the soldiers he was fighting in the entrance and the destruction of the entrance would delay anyone that was following them. They traveled for a good distance on the stolen motorcycle underground and managed to get out of the tunnel before they ran out of gas, but lucky for them they were able to make it to Kalm. After a quick run that were able find someone to give them a ride to Midgar, it happened to be an old man delivering supplies to the ranch from Kalm and Midgar, which leads to why the two are currently riding in the back of an old truck about thirty miles away from Midgar.

Zack trying to get Cloud to respond by talking about their plans, "Well we're almost to Midgar. Let see the first thing I'm going to do is try to find Aerith, I hope that she's doing okay since it's been too long since I last saw her. I wonder if she'll be mad? I admit that she's cute, but don't anger her or you'll be on the painful end of her staff." He paused and acted like he was cringing, "I still don't know where she learned to fight. Anyway after I get back in touch with her I want to become a mercenary, that's the best choice for my skills since I don't want to go back to Shin-Ra and you can be my partner. The two of us would be a tough duo to beat, but we will have to be in Lower Midgar so that it will be harder for them to find us there. Once you're better and we have some time to recover fully we can make more plans. Hmm...but to be fair I guess we will see if there's any information on Tifa there." Zack wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Cloud twitch when he said Tifa's name.

Zack closed his eyes to think, but he stopped concentrating on that when he opened his eyes and saw a flicker of light a distance away on a cliff. Because of his enhanced vision he could easily see that it was a sniper's rifle and the sight was set on Cloud. Instantly he grabbed his friend and the jumped out of the truck, leaving what was left of their supplies. He reached for the sword on his back so that he could deflect any bullets shot at them, but he was out of luck since his reaction time was slower. Being on the run for so long was taking it's tole on Zack and the sniper fired a shot sooner than he expected, so he was unable to block the bullet.

Zack was wounded in the shoulder and used his uninjured arm to place the blade on Cloud's back, he then grabbed Cloud's arm and began to lead him away from the sixteen men chasing them. Zack was able to reduce their numbers by more than half with the attack materia that he still had placed in his armlet, but he was draining his energy to use the spells and soon stopped using them. As they were running they came to a cliff that over looked Midgar and Zack saw one of the men taking aim on Cloud again. He then pushed his friend out of the way and took the bullet in his leg, causing him to fall to the ground.

The five of the six remaining men grinned as the sixth began to talk, "I must say that you SOLDIER guys live up to the hype. It's been months since we were given orders to capture you and this is the closest we've come, but we lost nearly a hundred good men. I think I'll do Shin-Ra a favor and have you executed now and forget about the orders of keeping you alive that the Turks gave us." He paused as the thought about what happened. "We technically disobeyed orders of not to engage you, but I think that we can fix that."

He then signaled for one of the others to contact their superiors, "Commander, this Squad 17. We were keeping them in our sight like we were ordered, but the black-haired one noticed us trailing them and took out the Squad 14 along with several of my squad's men." He then paused, "Sorry sir, but the black hair one was fatally wounded and won't survive. The other one slipped away while we were detaining his friend." The entire squad began to grin again once he received the confirmation that the mission was over.

No one notice a hand moving toward the hilt of a large sword or that a previously unresponsive figure was moving while the armed men took aim on the fallen SOLDIER. Everyone did however notice a click that didn't sound like any of the guns. Then a blur suddenly appeared and sliced all the guns in half. When everyone looked up they saw the other man that appeared to be of no threat now standing between the soldiers and the other SOLDIER.

"Well it seems that I chose a good time to wake-up, how are you doing Zack?" Cloud asked as he looked at his fallen friend, he noticed Zack's right shoulder and leg were bleeding from their bullet wounds, but Zack still gave him a sign that he was somewhat okay. "Don't worry, I'll give you a hand as soon as I deal with these guys."

Cloud than ran toward the six men with both swords in his hands. To any one without sharp vision like that of SOLDIER, it looked like Cloud vanished and reappeared behind his opponents, who all fell to the ground. To those that were SOLDIER or had vision like one, it looked like Cloud ran to each man and slashed each one of the men before they fell. Cloud walked over to his fallen friend after stabbing the sword into the ground and pulled a knife out of his pocket. Zack wound wasn't too bad by their standards, but it was enough to slow him down and make it difficult to use his sword. Cloud used the knife to pull out the bullet and picked up the swords to used the materia Zack left in them.

Cloud then handed one to Zack and walked back to the truck that was only a few hundred feet away from them. There he found that the old man had be killed in the crossfire and the truck had been damaged. He then took used used the fire materia in his armlet to blast a hole in the ground and buried the old man's body. Then he took two of the soldiers bodies and placed them in the truck and used the fire materia again, though he removed their supplies first. After that he grabbed another soldier's body that he discovered had a fire materia to and made it appear that his arm with the materia in it was pointing at the truck.

Zack watched Cloud do all that a few feet away and smiled at his friend's intelligence. _So it now looks like we were discovered the men and attacked them like they said. Then there was a fight when I was 'fatally' injured and after they sent the transmission Cloud appeared to help me and we tried to escape in the truck, but one man survived long enough to make it explode with us in it. I know how they think and that's how they will piece it together, looks like Cloud remembered how to cover his tracks._

With that done Cloud then backtracked his footprints and wrapped Zack's wounds closed wounds with the medical supplies that they had. The two then began their long walk toward Midgar once. As the walked with Zack leaning on Cloud for support, the blond told his friend why he seemed to be act so catatonic and Zack explained what happened while he was in that state, letting Cloud know the background to his new memories of their adventure.

Well hope you liked it.

Like with Tifa's escape to Midgar, I don't know how the two got there from Nibelheim. All I know is that they were on the run for a year before FF7 and what was shown in FF7:LO. So I improvised with some more familiar faces. The mental part with Cloud was somewhat based off the part where he and Tifa were both sucked into the Lifestream when he lost all his memory. As for their fights with the soldiers, that was loosely based of the Last Order with minor changes.

The gil materia that I added is a materia that converts defeated monsters into gil. I had to think of a way for the group to get money like how the game does it and this gives an explanation to what happens to the bodies of the defeated monsters, it somewhat makes more sense than saying that the monsters just turned into gil automatically.

If you are curious their armlets could only hold two materia each and each half of the sword could each hold one. Zack had the lightning and heal in his armlet, the gil in one half of the sword and the restore in the other, and he put the ice and fire materia in Cloud's armlet.

The next chapter should cover their recovery, finding Tifa, joining AVALANCHE, and the start of FF7.


	5. Return and Recovery

**Disclaimer: **Square Enix owns Final Fantasy VII, not me.

**A/N: **As I said in the last chapter, this chapter covers Cloud and Zack return, meeting Tifa, and joining AVALANCHE. Since he remembers his past Cloud will be a little different from the way that he acted in the game. The reasons this chapter took so long are that my classes became a little hectic and I had decided to do a rewrite to my other story, which took too long in my opinion. Since I made you all wait I decided to edit the previous chapters a little and hopefully they are better now. I suggest you take a glance, the most changes are in chapter 3 and 4.

"Speaking"

_Thinking_

**Brothers by the Blade**

**5.Return and Recovery **

The two men finally made it to the large city after sunset. Even though they could easily see it from where they fought the MP squads, it was still a long distance to get to on foot. The conditions of the two spiky haired men didn't help either. Both were still recovering from the conditions that the four years of experimentation did to their bodies, they were tired from their traveling from Nibelheim to Midgar for nearly a year, they were always fighting for their lives, and the fact that Zack had not completely recovered from his gunshot wounds.

As they reached on of the exterior doors of the lower area (I prefer to call the Slums Lower Midgar)of the huge city they wondered where they would go, several years of being away would mean that their apartment would most likely belong to someone else now. Their best chance at recovering was that they knew someone in Midgar that would help them, which was unlikely for them.

The huge door slide open and the slowly walked in with Cloud supporting Zack. They weren't sure what area they were in when they entered or how far they traveled, but they soon came to what appeared to be a train graveyard. Unfortunately for them the area was swarming with monsters and they were too weak to deal with the creatures, but they were fortunate that the monsters were preoccupied with what appeared to be some loud growling coming from a tunnel that was a distance away from them.

While moving they were spotted by several monsters and had to fight the creatures as best they could in their current conditions. When they finally reached the reached the train station the collapsed on the ground in front of the steps, too exhausted from traveling and fighting. So they just laid there, breathing heavily and trying to mentally will the pain in their bodies to stop.

"Well Cloud, we made it. We did the first have of the plan and got here. The next part I guess is to find a place we can rest until we are one-hundred percent again." He looked around a spoke again, "If I remember right, this train station is near Sector 7 and I think there is an inn there. If we rest for a bit we might be able to make it before midnight and thanks to those creatures we have enough for a room for few nights, that should help us for now." Zack said to this equally tired friend.

"Well that's easier said than done. We may want to do that , but we aren't exactly in the best conditions to go through with that plan." Cloud replied as he tried to calm his breath to talk easier. "Do me a favor and remind me to have a word with the Shin-Ra higher-ups about those creatures if we ever come face to face with any of them. I thought that keeping those things out of Midgar was one of the main reasons that their military was created and I recall having several mission of getting rid of those things personally." Cloud replied.

"I think when they sent you and the others, that they were trying to give the image to all residents that they care. They must have stopped that while we were away." Zack then slowly stood up and took a seat at the bench and Cloud soon joined him, both men resting their blades at their sides. "So, any idea of what we are going to do? It's been almost five years since we were here last and I doubt that anyone we knew will be particularly helpful, most of the people we knew here worked for Shin-Ra too."

Cloud nodded and looked at around like Zack did and recognized the area too. "Well I suppose we can rest here a little longer then try to get to that inn." He then noticed that they weren't being attacked again, "I think that we should be safe from monsters here and on the way to the in, but being safe to travel and being able to travel are two different things."

Both men laughed together at that fact, but stopped when they heard the train coming. "Cloud, do you think that anyone with Shin-Ra will be on the train?" Zack was concerned since their trip took so much out of them and they were all but defenseless now.

Neither had much sleep since they escaped, despite being near comatose Cloud didn't get any actual rest while they were escaping. In truth, them riding the with Yuffie on the boat was the most time they weren't moving under their own power and Zack stayed awake to make sure they stayed on coarse while Cloud couldn't fall asleep in the state he was in. Their minds and bodied were well beyond their limits and it is very likely that if they weren't well trained members of SOLDIER they would have been dead from their traveling alone.

To calm his friend Cloud shook his head, "From what I remember, Shin-Ra has all it staff living in the main building or in the apartments surrounding it." He tried to remember his missions that took him to the lower levels back when he was a normal soldier and after he became a SOLDIER, "I think that you are the only one that came down here that wasn't mission related, though I don't blame you. If Tifa lived down here while we were with Shin-Ra I would have come down here too."

They both shared another laugh as the train pulled into the station to let the passengers off. When they stopped laughing they saw that there were three people surrounding them. The first was a man in a green outfit with a red bandanna tided around his forehead to keep his brown hair out of his face, he looked to be about Zack's age at most and had a build similar to them. The next man was wearing a brown shirt with blue pants and a red bandanna that covered all of his hair with the exception of a few strands sticking out of the front, he was quite large with was seemed to be both fat and muscle. The last person was a woman that was probably a year younger than Cloud, she wore a red bandanna around her head like the first guy, had green pants that with a blue shirt. They all seemed to be wearing some type of military gear with metal shoulder pads. The three looked at the two men carefully and Cloud was beginning to wonder if he was wrong about anyone from Shin-Ra coming to the lower area.

"Hmm...Jessie, I know that I seen guys dressed like this before, can you tell me if you remember seeing these types of clothes before?" The first man asked the woman.

She nodded her head as she looked over the men, "Well those are definitely Shin-Ra uniforms. Those belts, armlets, and shoulder pads are usually worn by SOLDIERs. If I have the colors right then purple are the First Class uniforms, that means that they are strong." It took her a few moments to recall all that information, but she spent a lot of time studying images of those that worked for Shin-Ra. "I remember that those in SOLDIER were suppose to be some kind of super-soldiers and that even a their weakest member could takeout five well trained men without much trouble. I wonder what could get these two in this kind of condition."

The larger man shook his head, "What does it matter? They are with Shin-Ra!" He then glanced at the two men that were just watching them. "We should hold them for ransom, try to get some information out of them, or at least finish them off."

The thinner man nodded in agreement, "I suppose with their positions they would have some useful information that we could use." He glanced at the men that were still looking at them. "So what should we do, bring them back to base or have Jessie go get Barret while we guard them?"

Jessie pouted at the skinnier of the two men, "Aww...Biggs you're no fun, I wanted to stay here and get to know these cute guys. They are quite handsome and it's not often that we meet SOLDIERs, now I wonder if all of them are that cute." She then looked at the larger man, "How about you go get him Wedge?"

Wedge laughed nervously as he wondered who to side with and Biggs frowned at the woman for her comments. Cloud decided that he was silent long enough, "Well Zack, they aren't military. Their comments suggest that they are most likely anti-Shin-Ra, not to mention that their physique and attire say that they most likely seen some action. What would you say they are?"

Zack took a closer look at them, "Well I'd guess that they were probably with that group we had to deal with when a few years back, but they don't seem as ruthless as them. If they were with the group they would have either have killed us by now or been making threats instead of discussing their plans."

Cloud nodded his head, "Well they may be dangerous, but I think that we can easily take them even in our current conditions. What do you say?"

Zack shrugged his head as he used his sword to help him stand, "Well I wasn't planning on fighting so soon, but if it means we can get to the inn afterward to rest then it's fine by me."

Cloud soon stood up with his friend and was preparing to fight. Their opponents all stood in fighting stances when they heard them talking about fighting. Just at the five was about to start their fight an interruption arrived in the form of a young woman wearing a black mini-skirt with suspenders and a white shirt along with a pair of gloves and armbands.

"There you three are!" She screamed. "Barret and I have been waiting for you to arrive and when you were late we got concerned. You're lucking that Marlene wanted him to read her a bedtime story or he would be here yelling at you three instead of me."

She then glanced over at the two men that looked like they seen better days. Their cloths looked dingy with rips and holes in them. Their hair was also dirty and was hanging limply in their faces. Then the swords that they held looked had mud and blood stains all over them as well as cracks and scratches that said that the men had not been able to take care of their weapons. She recognized their clothes since she seen a couple of SOLDIERs before.

"I see now, you three found a couple of guys with SOLDIER and decided to pick a fight with them for information. I'll admit that any information would have been useful, but one of you could have came to get one of us or you could have tried to bring them with you and locked them in the inn's storage area." She was about to continue telling them that they should have thought ahead, but the two men decided to raise their head and look at her. "Another thin...what?! Cloud!! Zack!! Is that you?! I thought that both of you were killed when sensai told me Shin-Ra arrived at the town." She then ran up to the blond and hugged him tightly.

Cloud blinked a little confused as he pulled away from the young woman and took a better look at her. After staring for a few seconds he was able to remember her face, "Tifa? I can't believe it's you. I was worried that they might have got you too when they I Zack told me that they took all the survivors. You will have to tell me how you got away with that injury." He then looked down at her exposed midriff and notice a very faint line, "Looks like you healed well, there's barely a scar." He then traced the line in her skin, earning a giggle out of her since it tickled a little.

Cloud then retracted his hand and she smiled at him, "It's really is good to see you Cloud, you too Zack. I really was worried. It's been about five years since that night and I really did think you both died after that fight with Sephiroth."

Zack let out a weak laugh, "I know what you mean, he was even for two SOLDIER First Class like Cloud and me." He rubbed his left arm a little, "I was badly beaten with a number of wounds while Cloud had to stab wounds with that sword still sticking out of him, but we survived and healed."

Tifa nodded her head and then notice that the three people that she was yelling at before were now looking at her strangely. "Sorry about that guys, but I thought that these two had died when Sephiroth destroyed my village." She then gestured to the two men beside her, "The guy with the black hair is Zack, he's the one I told you fought Sephiroth first when I was injured. The blond is my childhood friend Cloud, he was the one that took care of my wounds before going to fight Sephiroth"

The three nodded their heads as they looked at their friend, they remembered her telling them about what happened to her village and the two guys with SOLDIER that tried to stop the silver-haired man. They were a little shocked that they were going to attack Tifa's friends, friends that could be helpful if they decided to stay at Tifa's side.

"Well I hate to disturb this whole meet and greet, but Cloud and I have been on the run from Shin-Ra for months and had more than our share of run-ins with them. Our bodies are at their limits and I doubt that we can stay conscious much longer, so if you four don't mind we will pass-out now." When he finished , both he and Cloud sat back on the bench and went unconscious with their swords at their side.

Tifa shook her head as she called over Biggs and Wedge, "You two carry Cloud and Zack, I'll get their swords."

The two looked at her curiously since they know she was stronger then the both of them combined and said she was just going to get a couple of swords. She noticed the looks and decided to prove a point by getting both sword and placing one in each of their empty hands. The two men promptly fell to the ground from the weight of the weapons, carrying the men over their shoulders would have been a lot easier than carrying the swords. So Tifa combined them like the two had shown her all those years ago and placed the long hilt over her shoulder while holding it with one hand, she had picked up the dropped pack and held it in her other hand. The two men walked with the SOLDIERs draped over their shoulders while Jessie ran up to Tifa to talk to her and they all started to head back to their base in Sector 7.

"So Tifa, you said it's been years since you seen those guys." The other woman nodded and Jessie continued, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Tifa sighed, but nodded, "Almost five years ago the monsters in the a mountains near my hometown seemed to increase and they appeared more agitated, since there was a mako reactor in the are Shin-Ra sent three SOLDIERs and a couple of normal guards to investigate. The SOLDIERs were Sephiroth, Zack, and Cloud." She smiled a little as she remember that memory, "That was the first time that I seen Cloud in two years and I was happy to see him, I was a little surprised since he told me that he was in SOLDIER and didn't tell me that he was one of the men selected for the mission. Anyway he was a little shy in front of the rest of the village and Zack had me bring them to Cloud's home, I have to say that when I saw how handsome and strong Cloud looked I began to wonder why I didn't notice him much before we entered our teens."

Jessie turned her head an looked at the two unconscious me. She did say that they were cute at first glance but she didn't get as good a look at their faces as she wanted. They were looked a little worse for wear, most likely needed a bath from how dirty they looked, they had some freshly healed wounds and would most likely need a doctor too, and she could see their well defined bodies as well as their handsome faces. All they really needed to look more attractive was a pair of fresh clothes, a bath, and a chance to wash their hair. _I always wondered why I Tifa's love-life never went further than one or two dates. With a guy like that out there I'd probably be willing to wait a few years too._

"Anyway we talked most of the night he returned and he was a little late the next day, he over slept talking to his mother. He arrived just in time to take that picture I showed you in my room." Tifa explained.

Jessie interrupted her, "You mean that one with you, they guy in purple, and the guy in red?" Tifa nodded. "So that was them, but I always wonder why part of the picture was ripped. There looked like there was more that was torn off."

Tifa frowned, "We originally took that picture with Sephiroth and I never want to see his face again." Jessie nodded since she heard that story, but forgot the details. Tifa knew that Jessie forgot and sighed as she got back to her story. "Anyway we were taking the picture when Cloud showed up and surprised the rest of the village since they didn't know that he was there, then Zack mentioned that Cloud was in the process of being promoted to First Class since he was Second Class at the time. After the picture we went up the mountain to they deal with the monster and Cloud saved me when the rope bridge was destroy, then we went to the reactor and I got a strange vibe from Sephiroth when he exited. Well the next night he set fire to the village, killed as many people as he could including my father, and he nearly killed me when I tried to get revenge."

Jessie gasped a little as they neared the Seventh Heaven bar, Tifa's home was located behind it and the secret base for their organization was below it. Tifa had just told them that Sephiroth was responsible for killing everyone close to her and destroying her home, she never went into much detail about that night.

"Well I was down for the count, but soon Zack came to deal with Sephiroth. Sadly he was beaten and Cloud showed up in time to help us with our injuries before leaving to fight Sephiroth. I don't know what happened after that, my sensai said that some people from Shin-Ra arrived and he needed to ger me out of there. He said that we left before the the fight was over and that he hoped that those two survived, about about a week later I woke up in a Midgar clinic. Since then I haven't been able to find any information about Cloud, Zack, or the Nibelhiem."

With the end of her story they arrived at the bar and brought the two men to a back room, there the two were laid down on some extra mattresses stored in there while Tifa put leaned the sword against the wall with their pack. The other three with Tifa and Barret slept on some mattresses they had in their underground base so that they would not be discovered if men from Shin-Ra showed up while they were sleeping. Since Tifa was an nonactive member of AVALANCHE, a eco-group that rebels against Shin-Ra with Barret as the their current leader, she was safe to sleep above the base with Barret's daughter Marlene. There was two rooms behind the bar, one with two actual beds for her and Marlene while the other room had the two mattresses they laid the SOLDIERs on.

Speaking of Barret, he was standing in the doorway watching the four people as they laid the two men down and placed the sword against the wall. He was a tall dark skinned man with bulging muscle and his right hand was replaced with a prosthetic gun, he was wearing a pair of green pants with a brown vest and some type of armor around his stomach. He had heard them enter while he was in the other room after putting his daughter to sleep and was a little curious of that they were doing in the other room. He was able to see the uniforms the men were wearing and he remembered them quite well, he seen many Shin-Ra uniforms before and Jessie had provided him some files Shin-Ra's military.

Barret frowned and made his presence known, "What the hell took you so long and why do you have some of Shin-Ra's lapdogs here?" His sudden arrival surprised everyone and they asked him to follow them into the bar.

Once there Tifa began to explain, "They are old friends of mine, I grew up with one and the other became his best friend after he left my home village. I haven't seen either of them since the night my village was destroyed."

Barret nodded, "That explains who they are, but why are they here and can we trust them? I know that those are uniforms of SOLDIER and you know that we can't trust anyone with Shin-Ra."

Tifa knew that she would trust Cloud with her life and that Zack proved that he was just as trustworthy, but she wasn't sure if she could convince Barret. "Well they were with me when my village was destroyed and even fought again Sephiroth. Zack also said something about being on the run from Shin-Ra for a number of months, so I doubt that they are still with the company." She then looked at the door that led to the room the men were resting in, "After they heal a little we can talk to them and find out what happened. Then you can determine if they can be trusted, but you should remember that one of them lived in my village and that means his home was destroyed by Shin-Ra too."

The other four members thought about what she said and she did have a point, but they would hold off their opinions of the two men until they were actually able to speak with them. They did have a long wait though, the two men would be asleep for a several days.

--------------------------------

It was a week later before the two SOLDIERs woke up, seems that they needed the rest after what they had been through. Tifa had called for a doctor that lived nearby to take a look at them and he was amazed by how fast they were healing. He told her they they just needed plenty of rest, will require a substantial amount of food and liquids when they wake up, and that if they don't do anything too strenuous for about two months they would make a full recovery. He even said that they would be back on their feet a few days after they wake up.

When the two woke up it was interesting. They found themselves in the back room on the mattresses and had no clue how they got there, but they weren't alone. It seems that Marlene was curious as to why there were strangers in the other room when she peeked in the other day. At the moment she was hiding behind a box near the door.

Zack was the first to awake and Cloud woke up several minutes after him. "Well Cloud, we're not in a holding cell or a lab, that's a good sign. Now that we know that we're not in the care of our former employers, we should figure out where we are." He then thought for a moment and tried to recall his last memories before passing. "Was that really Tifa that we saw at the train station?"

Cloud thought back to when he was last awake and remembered when three people were talking about what to do with the two of them, only for Tifa to arrive. He blushed a little when he remembered that he traced the remnants of her old scar, "Yeah, that was her. I think it's hard for me to forget her face, though I did have a little trouble recognizing h..." Cloud stopped mid-sentence when he heard something move in the room.

Cloud then glanced up at Zack and directed his eyes to where he heard the sound for a second, which Zack responded by nodding his head slightly. They slowly walked to the door and noticed a box, then the crept on either side and Cloud reached behind it. When he retracted his hand he held a little girl by the back of her shirt in the air, she looked no older than four and had tears beginning to appear in her eyes. Cloud then gently put her back down on the floor and backed away a little, he wasn't sure how to deal with children considering his childhood.

Zack then knelt down in front of the girl and placed his hand on her shoulders, "Sorry about my friend, he thought that there was someone else watching us. Now that we know that it was you, would you care to tell us your name little angel?"

The girls tears dried, but she wasn't sure what to do. _Daddy said that I should never talk to strangers, but they don't seem so bad and Tifa only allow people she or daddy know back here._

Luckily the little girl didn't have to make that decision when a feminine voice answered for her. "Her name's Marlene and she's not suppose to be back here." The three turned around to see Tifa standing by the open door with something in her arms. Marlene then ran to the woman's side and hid behind her leg while staring at the two men. "She's a bit shy, according to her father it's a trait she inherited from her mother. By the way, he wants to have a word with you, but I think that you two my want to freshen up a bit first. Here are some clothes that Biggs brought for you and the shower is the door on your left when you leave the room."

Cloud walked up to her and took the clothes she held, which were to be a couple pairs of sweatpants, two white tee-shirts, and a couple pair of white boxers. "Thanks Tifa, looks like you came when we needed you this time." He then gave Zack one of the two sets of clothes and Tifa takes Marlene back to Barret and the others.

Over the course of half an hour the two spiky haired men each took their showers. Ten minutes after the second man took his shower both were sitting on a couple of stools in the bar with their feet bare, each wearing a white shirt and gray sweatpants. They looked much better now that they cleaned up and in some clean clothes, their hair regained their usual spiky nature now that they were able to wash their it. The two young men looked at the other occupants of the room with their blue mako-eyes. Barret sat in a chair in front of them with Biggs leaning against the wall to his side and Wedge was sitting in a chair on his other side, Jessie was sitting on the end of a table behind the three men and Tifa was lean near the entrance to the bar. The bar was closed so that they could talk in private, they even managed to get Marlene to take a nap since they figured that they might discuss some things that a child shouldn't hear.

Zack tired of the silence, "I am enjoying having some peace and quiet for once, but would you mind telling us what it is that you want to know?" He then glanced at each one of them again, noticing that Barret's gun arm was pointing in their direction despite being aimed at the floor. "We may have a lot of time on our hands from what that doctor told you, but I can thing of a few things that we can do instead sitting here not saying anything."

Cloud nodded his head, "Go ahead and ask us whatever, I don't think there is anything that we want to hide."

The three other men began to talk amongst themselves, but they stopped when Tifa spoke up. "Well can you two tell me what happened in the reactor and afterwards? Not to mention where have been since then and how you ended up in the condition we found you in?"

The two thought for a moment and told them everything. Zack and Cloud each told their parts of their battle with Sephiroth, the experiments done on them and their escape(leaving out many detail about Vincent and Yuffie), Cloud's near comatose state, the Shin-Ra soldiers attacking them, and the events of the day that Tifa found them. Most of the occupants in the room were surprised by this, they knew that the company they were fighting did some bad things, but they didn't know about human experimentation and using unwilling participants. To prove their stories Zack showed them the information recorded on them that they had in the pack, seems that it was already proving to be useful.

"So you said that the two of you are going to be mercenaries and after you secure enough funds you might go against Shin-Ra?" Tifa asked them.

Cloud and Zack looked at each other for a moment and nodded. "Yeah, that's the plan. Shin-Ra has done some terrible things and it wouldn't be right to let them go unpunished." Zack paused and looked at the group staring at him, "We were among their best men and they turned their back on us. I know that they are the reason that Sephiroth destroyed Nibelhiem, they are the reason that so many innocent people lost their live, and they are responsible for other unspeakable horrors that we know and don't know about. I don't think I could live with myself if didn't try to make them pay for what they did."

Cloud agreed with them, "They are the reason that all that happened. The destruction of our home, the murder of our people, and the death of my mother as well as your father Tifa." The last part was low like a whisper. "They took away all the reminds of our past and tried to take away our futures. I don't know how many lives they ruined, but I want to try my best to make sure that they don't ruin anymore lives."

The five people listening to the two ex-SOLDIERs we beginning to like what they were hearing, Tifa glanced at Barret and received a nod. She knew that he still didn't trust the two men and would probably be keeping an eye on them, but it was good to have Cloud back. If they were mercenaries now then they would be very useful considering that they were both with SOLDIER and had some information to add to their abilities.

"Well your injuries will have you taking it easy for a couple of months, but there is only one thing we have to say to you two now." The two men looked at Tifa and she smile back at them "Welcome to AVALANCHE."

That's it for this chapter, hope you liked it and sorry for the long wait. I already stated what took so long. Anyway hopefully I can have the next chapter up in a week or two, but I won't make any promises since I have finals. The next chapter should basically cover the start of FF7, but I haven't decided how far it will go yet.


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